Barrow Offshore Wind Farm

Last updated

Barrow Offshore Wind Farm
Barrow Offshore wind turbines NR.jpg
Barrow Offshore Wind Farm, April 2009
Barrow Offshore Wind Farm
Location of Barrow Offshore Wind Farm off the coast of England
CountryEngland, United Kingdom
LocationEast Irish Sea, south west of Walney Island, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria
Coordinates 53°59′00″N3°17′00″W / 53.9833°N 3.2833°W / 53.9833; -3.2833
StatusOperational
Commission date 2006
Owner(s) Ørsted A/S
Wind farm
Type
Distance from shore7 km (4 mi)
Hub height75 m (246 ft)
Rotor diameter90 m (300 ft)
Power generation
Units operational30
Make and model Vestas Wind Systems: Vestas V90-3MW
Nameplate capacity 90MW
External links
Commons Related media on Commons
Barrow Offshore Wind Farm
Wind farm layout

The Barrow Offshore Wind Farm is a 30 turbine 90MW capacity offshore wind farm in the East Irish Sea approximately seven kilometres (four nautical miles) southwest of Walney Island, near Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England.

Contents

Construction of the wind farm took place between 2005 and 2006. The farm is operated by Barrow Offshore Wind Limited, owned by Ørsted A/S.

Planning and design

Barrow wind farm was a UK Round 1 wind farm development originally developed by Warwick Energy Limited. [1] A planning application was submitted in 2001, [2] and planning consent given in March 2003; [3] the project was sold to Centrica (25%, c.£22.5million), Ørsted A/S (then named DONG Energy) (37.5%), and Statkraft (37.5%) in Sep. 2003. [4] [5] The estimated cost of developing the project was £100 million, of which £10million was provided by a UK government grant. [5] [6] In 2004 Centrica and Ørsted bought the Statkraft stake, forming a 50:50 joint venture in the development. [7]

The initial Warwick Energy proposal was for a 30 turbine wind farm 7 km southwest of Walney Island (Cumbria), with a generating capacity of up to 108 MW; electrical power supply to the mainland was to be via a ~25 km long 132 kV cable making groundfall near Heysham, with connection to the mainland electrical grid at an extension to an existing electricity substation south of Heysham nuclear power station. [8] Turbines were expected to have ~50m radius blades, with a 75m hub height, and be in water at a depth of ~20 m, with a ~32.5 m sub-sea bed monopile foundation; the turbines were to be spaced approximately 500 m apart in four rows aligned to face the prevailing southwesterly winds, with a row spacing of ~750 m. [9]

Construction

Offshore substation, with jackup ship and wind turbine in background (2006) Offshore-132kv-Substation.jpg
Offshore substation, with jackup ship and wind turbine in background (2006)

In July 2004 Kellogg Brown & Root Ltd and Vestas-Celtic Wind Technology Ltd were awarded the contract to install and commission the wind farm, and to operate the wind farm for five years. [10] A 30-turbine wind farm with a capacity of 90MW was constructed by the consortium between July 2005 and May 2006. The main construction base was at Harland and Wolff's shipyard in Belfast. [11] In exceptions where pile driving of monopile foundations failed, drilling was used to form the monopile foundations. [11] [12]

IEC 1A class Vestas V90-3.0 MW wind turbines were used, mounted on a 75 m tower connected to 4.75 m (15 ft 7 in) monopiles supplied by a Sif/Smulders joint venture. [13] Turbine to offshore substation electric connection were at 33 kV, with the voltage stepped up to 132 kV at an offshore substation supplied by Areva T&D (transformer), Sif/Smulders (superstructure and monopile) and designed by KBR and Mott MacDonald. Cables were supplied by Prysmian (33 kV) and Nexans (132 kV). [14]

Construction of the wind farm was completed in June 2006 with the first power generated in March 2006. [15] The operator is Barrow Offshore Wind Limited, owned by Centrica and Ørsted. [1]

Operation

Since 2008 (to 2012) the farm operated at between 30 and 40% capacity factor, generating between 240 and 320 GWh of electrical energy per year. [16] Its levelised cost has been estimated at £87/MWh. [17]

In 2011 regulatory changes required Ørsted/Centrica to divest the electrical transmission assets of the wind farm, which were sold to TC Barrow OFTO Ltd. for £34 million. [18]

In 2014 Ørsted acquired Centrica's 50% holding in the wind farm. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Array</span> Wind farm located on the Thames Estuary, UK

The London Array is a 175-turbine 630 MW Round 2 offshore wind farm located 20 kilometres (12 mi) off the Kent coast in the outer Thames Estuary in the United Kingdom. It was the largest offshore wind farm in the world until Walney Extension reached full production in September 2018.

The Thanet Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm 7 miles (11 km) off the coast of Thanet district in Kent, England. On commissioning it was the world's largest offshore wind farm. It has a nameplate capacity of 300 MW and it cost £780–900 million (US$1.2–1.4 billion). Thanet is one of fifteen Round 2 wind projects announced by the Crown Estate in January 2004 but the first to be developed. It was officially opened on 23 September 2010, when it overtook Horns Rev 2 as the biggest offshore wind farm in the world. It has since been overtaken by many others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm</span>

Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm is a Round 2 wind farm in North Sea off the coast of Norfolk. A lease for use of the sea bed was obtained in 2004 by Scira Offshore Energy, the development gained offshore planning consent in 2008, and was constructed 2009–2011, being officially opened in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Amalia Wind Farm</span>

The Princess Amalia Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm in the Netherlands. Prior to its official opening, it was known as the Q7 Wind Farm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm</span>

The Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm is a 348 MW offshore wind farm located on the Burbo Flats in Liverpool Bay on the west coast of the UK in the Irish Sea. It consists of an original 90 MW wind farm commissioned in 2007 and a 258 MW extension completed in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynn and Inner Dowsing Wind Farms</span> Pair of wind farms in the North Sea off Lincolnshire, England

The Lynn and Inner Dowsing wind farms are a pair of round 1 wind farms located in the North Sea, in the shallow waters at the entrance to The Wash off the coast of Lincolnshire, England. The wind farms were developed as a single unit after planning consent was given in 2003. Construction work began in 2006 and was completed in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincs Wind Farm</span>

The Lincs Wind Farm is a 270 MW offshore wind farm 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) off Skegness on the east coast of England. The total cost of the project is estimated at £1 billion including electrical transmission links. The farm was completed in 2013. It is adjacent to the smaller Lynn and Inner Dowsing Wind Farm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunfleet Sands Offshore Wind Farm</span>

Gunfleet Sands Offshore Wind Farm is a 172 MW wind farm about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) off the Clacton-on-Sea coast in the Northern Thames Estuary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ormonde Wind Farm</span> Wind farm in the Irish Sea

The Ormonde Wind Farm is a wind farm west of Barrow-in-Furness in the Irish Sea. The wind farm covers an area of 8.7 square kilometres (3.4 sq mi). It has a total capacity of 150 MW and is expected to produce around 500 GWh of electricity per year.

Triton Knoll Wind Farm is an 857 MW round 2 offshore wind farm nearing completion 33 kilometres (21 mi) off the coast of Lincolnshire, in the North Sea, England.

Race Bank Wind Farm is a 573 MW Round 2 offshore wind farm located 27 km north of Blakeney Point off the coast of Norfolk, and 28 km east of Chapel St Leonards off the Lincolnshire coast in the North Sea. The farm was commissioned in February 2018.

Bladt Industries A/S is an international steel contractor specialising in large-scale and highly complex steel structures. It operate within three key areas of business providing steel solutions for the wind and renewable energy sector, for the oil and gas industry and for infrastructure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West of Duddon Sands Wind Farm</span>

West of Duddon Sands Wind Farm (WoDS), occasionally also known as West Duddon Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm located 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) south west of Walney Island off the coast of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, in the Irish Sea, England. It was developed by Scottish Power and Ørsted A/S.

Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm 32 km north of Cromer off the coast of Norfolk, in the North Sea, England. It is owned by Dudgeon Offshore Wind Limited (DOW), a subsidiary of Equinor, Masdar and Statkraft. The site is a relatively flat area of seabed between the Cromer Knoll and Inner Cromer Knoll sandbanks and is one of the furthest offshore sites around the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humber Gateway Wind Farm</span> Wind farm in the UK

Humber Gateway Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm 8 kilometres (5 mi) east of Spurn Point off the coast of North East Lincolnshire, in the North Sea, England; the wind farm is located in water depths around 15 metres (49 ft) and covers an area of approximately 25 square kilometres (9.7 sq mi). The wind farm became operational in June 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westermost Rough Wind Farm</span>

Westermost Rough Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm 8 kilometres (5 mi) north east of Withernsea off the Holderness coast, in the North Sea, England. The farm covers an area of approximately 35 km2 (14 sq mi) with a generation capacity of approximately 210 MW. It became operational in May 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walney Wind Farm</span> Offshore wind farm off the coast of Cumbria, England

Walney Wind Farms are a group of offshore wind farms 9 miles (14 km) west of Walney Island off the coast of Cumbria, England, in the Irish Sea. The group, operated by Ørsted, consists of Walney Phase 1, Phase 2 and the Walney Extension. The extension has a capacity of 659 MW and it was the world's second largest offshore wind farm in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teesside Wind Farm</span> British offshore wind farm

Teesside Wind Farm, or alternatively referred to as Redcar Wind Farm, is a 27 turbine 62 MW capacity offshore wind farm constructed just to the east of the mouth of the River Tees and 1.5 km north of Redcar off the North Yorkshire coast, in the North Sea, England.

Hornsea Wind Farm is a Round 3 wind farm which began construction in 2018. Sited in the North Sea 120 km (75 mi) off the east coast of England, the eventual wind farm group is planned to have a total capacity of up to 6 gigawatt (GW).

References

  1. 1 2 Barrow (4C Offshore) Developers/Owners/Operators
  2. Barrow Offshore Wind Farm (LORC) Timeline & Track Records
  3. "Barrow Offshore Wind Farm", warwickenergy.com, archived from the original on 10 December 2003
  4. "Offshore Wind Farms", warwickenergy.com, archived from the original on 15 October 2004
  5. 1 2 Johnston, Lachlan (13 September 2003), "Centrica backs windfarm in the Irish Sea", The Daily Telegraph
  6. Centrica forms joint venture to acquire offshore windfarm company (press release), Centrica, 12 September 2003
  7. "Centrica pays £2 million to increase stake in Barrow windfarm project", icis.com, 23 July 2004
  8. Barrow wind farm (Non technical summary) (Warwick Energy) pp.1–2
  9. Barrow wind farm (Non technical summary) (Warwick Energy) pp.2–3
  10. Centrica announces construction contracts for Barrow windfarm (press release), Centrica, 23 July 2004
  11. 1 2 "Barrow Offshore Wind Farm", mpi-offshore.com, 15 June 2006, archived from the original on 14 September 2017, retrieved 21 April 2014
  12. Beyer, Manfred; Brunner, Wolfgang G., New BAUER Flydrill system drilling monopiles at Barrow Offshore Wind Farm UK (PDF), BAUER Maschinen GmbH., archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016, retrieved 21 April 2014
  13. Barrow Offshore Wind Farm (LORC) Turbine, Tower & Substructure
  14. Barrow Offshore Wind Farm (LORC) Substations, Inter-Array & Export Cables
  15. Barrow Offshore Wind Farm (Dong)
  16. Barrow Offshore Wind Farm (LORC) Production and Performance
  17. Aldersey-Williams, John; Broadbent, Ian; Strachan, Peter (2019). "Better estimates of LCOE from audited accounts – A new methodology with examples from United Kingdom offshore wind and CCGT". Energy Policy. 128: 25–35. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2018.12.044. hdl: 10059/3298 . S2CID   158158724.
  18. Disposal of Barrow offshore wind farm transmission assets (press release), Centrica, 27 September 2011
  19. "Centrica exits Barrow", renews.biz, 19 December 2014

Sources